Koopman Axel S, Näf Matthias, Baltrusch Saskia J, Kingma Idsart, Rodriguez-Guerrero Carlos, Babič Jan, de Looze Michiel P, van Dieën Jaap H
Department of Human Movement Sciences, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam Movement Sciences, the Netherlands.
Robotics and Multibody Mechanics (R&MM) Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and Flanders Make, Brussels, Belgium.
J Biomech. 2020 May 22;105:109795. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2020.109795. Epub 2020 Apr 18.
The number one cause of disability in the world is low-back pain, with mechanical loading as one of the major risk factors. To reduce mechanical loading, exoskeletons have been introduced in the workplace. Substantial reductions in back muscle activity were found when using the exoskeleton during static bending and manual materials handling. However, most exoskeletons only have one joint at hip level, resulting in loss of range of motion and shifting of the exoskeleton relative to the body. To address these issues, a new exoskeleton design has been developed and tested. The present study investigated the effect of the SPEXOR passive exoskeleton on compression forces, moments, muscle activity and kinematics during static bending at six hand heights and during lifting of a box of 10 kg from around ankle height using three techniques: Free, Squat and Stoop. For static bending, the exoskeleton reduced the compression force by 13-21% depending on bending angle. Another effect of the exoskeleton was that participants substantially reduced lumbar flexion. While lifting, the exoskeleton reduced the peak compression force, on average, by 14%. Lifting technique did not modify the effect of the exoskeleton such that the reduction in compression force was similar. In conclusion, substantial reductions in compression forces were found as a result of the support generated by the exoskeleton and changes in behavior when wearing the exoskeleton. For static bending, lumbar flexion was reduced with the exoskeleton, indicating reduced passive tissue strain. In addition, the reduced peak compression force could reduce the risk of compression induced tissue failure during lifting.
全球导致残疾的首要原因是腰痛，机械负荷是主要风险因素之一。为了减少机械负荷，工作场所引入了外骨骼。在静态弯腰和人工搬运物料时使用外骨骼，发现背部肌肉活动显著减少。然而，大多数外骨骼在髋部水平只有一个关节，导致活动范围受限以及外骨骼相对于身体发生移位。为了解决这些问题，已开发并测试了一种新的外骨骼设计。本研究调查了SPEXOR被动式外骨骼在六个手部高度进行静态弯腰以及使用三种技术（自由式、深蹲式和俯身式）从脚踝高度左右提起一个10千克的箱子时，对压力、力矩、肌肉活动和运动学的影响。对于静态弯腰，外骨骼根据弯曲角度将压力降低了13%至21%。外骨骼的另一个作用是参与者大幅减少了腰椎前屈。在提举时，外骨骼平均将峰值压力降低了14%。提举技术并未改变外骨骼的效果，压力降低情况相似。总之，由于外骨骼提供的支撑以及穿着外骨骼时行为的改变，发现压力大幅降低。对于静态弯腰，外骨骼使腰椎前屈减少，表明被动组织应变降低。此外，峰值压力降低可降低提举过程中因压力导致组织损伤的风险。
